Saturday, March 26, 2011

This wool fabric made its way into my home. Mainly because I'd never before seen anything like it in a fabric store. It looks like some one has taken a thick ply wool and knitted a diamond pattern in it. And yet it has the sturdiness of a woven.

But it takes more than a fabric to make a garment. Fabric needs notions.

This shade of blue was proving difficult to pair. Somewhere between navy and royal blue. I had considered custom dyeing ribbing. After many months of loneliness. It finally made a match. With a mokuba wool trim. And real leather buttons.
When something has been in your mind for that long, it coalesces. And by the time I sat down to it last night, it felt like it was making itself. It even devised its own pattern variation - the BurdaStyle Andrew minus facings and ribbing with raised centre front.

A handmade gift, that isn't cheap. That came together in a night, after months of thought.

Friday, March 11, 2011

This weekend bookmarks will be distributed for this blog. Real bookmarks, for a virtual blog. This poses the philosophical question (and creates the social experiment): if you give someone a bookmark, will they do the same to your blog, in return?

They are, after all, made from the finest-Italian-designer-fabric-come-eco-reuse (after being de-stashed from the local community centre). Now doesn't that just push all your culturally elitist and environmentally aware buttons at once?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

On a personal level, deadlines, feedback and accolades can do wonders. The discipline of working within a 'brief' and time limit can be great motivators. No matter what your creative pursuit, claiming a prize can give you the confidence to propel you beyond your current limits. And even if you don't win, you can gather valuable feedback on your style and skills

At a social level, competitions expose your work to your peers and industry players. Check out who's on the judging jury. They are often industry influentials and players. Like editors of magazines that could showcase your work. You also get to attend 'the event' and share that experience with those close to you... it might even be their first introduction to the fact that you sew.

I am thinking about what to get into this year, and put together this runsheet of the year ahead's competitions. It has a local focus, and for my dear international friends I explicity mention if it's for international entries or not. But e-v-er-y-o-n-e don't forget to keep an eye of the competitions section of BurdaStyle here for those out-of-the-blue comps that could change your craft for ever!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Today, the cotton webbing arrived from acafterglow on etsy. Intended, of course, for bags! Hayley saw the webbing in its parcel on my desk at work and suggested a belt. And she was right, this one decided it wanted to be a belt instead.

Did I mention I work full-time? These quick and easy projects are so rewarding. I admit it takes a little planning in advance to have the right materials at hand, but when you do, it can all come together quite quickly.

The cotton is so lovely and soft (but so very strong). And this off-centre argyle is all the prep I need. The buckle is from All Buttons (and for a low cost alternative, I recommend exonerating one from an old belt). These low rise G-Star's really needed a lift!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

I have seen tutorials for (and even bought clothing with) labels printed with computer printers onto iron-on transfers, only to see them wash out after the first wash - leaving a blank label! So, I came up with this method myself with what I had around. Fabric paint from stencilling (Alabama Chanin projects), plain fabric (called calico here in Australia and the UK) I use for toiles (aka muslins), a scrap of sponge, a laundry marker... and the only bought item: a rubber stamp.

The rubber stamp was an experiment. It was sold in the shop for paper craft and I wasn't sure if it would work for fabric and fabric paint... but I am pleased to confirm the hypothesis has now been proven.

What you need to do:1. Place the sponge in a plastic tray (like an ice cream container lid or take-away container lid)2. Dollop sponge with fabric paint3. Press rubber stamp onto sponge4. Stamp your plain fabric (it will take a couple goes to get the amount of paint and pressure right - you may need to do an initial blotting)5. Iron your stampings to set the fabric paint6. Write on your labels with a laundry marker[if your fabric pen also needs to be set by an iron, write your labels before setting them with the iron] 7. Cut out your labels and either, sew them into your garments, or, attach them with ribbon and a small brass safety pin as swing tags

Experiment with colours, shapes and fabrics. Find your 'look and feel'. I've even used them for gift tags. So it's handy to keep blank ones lying around.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Now peg them to the line and you're done. For kids (and even big kids) there is a learning process in getting the clothes looking right. Have enough scraps to allow for starting over.

The cost of this project is just $3 for the tiny pegs from Riot! Art & Craft (and there are plenty left over for other crafty things). The fabric scraps, twine, *fiskars scissors, pen and paper are all close to hand.